This Is Now
by john036
Summary: A slowburn to a Kitty-Ryder relationship.
1. Chapter 1

Kitty was standing at her chair, the New Directions stared at her with wide, shocked eyes. Marley was on the verge of tears, standing in front of the glee club, just finishing off an original song that she was working on. "…God forbid someone else wants to sing something, you mention you've been working on **yet another** original song, and it's like no one else matters!" Kitty finished off. The blonde cheerleader could see Marley begin to cry. Marley quickly turned on her heels and ran out of the choir room.

"Way to go, Kitty, you make Marley cry for another unknown reason," Jake spat out as he and Unique rushed out after Marley.

Kitty rolled her eyes and sat down. The glee club was still staring at her. "What!?" she yelled. The glee club quickly snapped their heads to face the front of the room. Kitty noticed that there was one head that was stilling looking at her: Ryder Lynn. He looked at her with great disappointment, but she didn't care. She rolled her eyes and started picking at her finger nails.

Glee club rehearsal finished forty-five minutes, and Marley, Jake, and Unique didn't return to the choir room until the last five minutes. Kitty was walking down the hallway when Ryder hurried to catch up with her. He pulled her aside suddenly, and cornered her against some lockers.

"What the hell is that, Kitty? That's like the third day in a row you made Marley cry," he said, looking down at her.

"What do you care?" Kitty spat out, trying to squeeze past the broad-shouldered teenager.

"Because you're a crazy bitch. And I know that's not how you really are," Ryder said, causing Kitty to roll her eyes.

"Actually it is, Beiber," Kitty said.

"What is going on with you, Kitty? One minute you're nice, and the next minute you're Godzilla's five-foot, blonde cousin," Ryder said, trying his best to say a Kitty-level insult.

Kitty smirked at the sound of Ryder's (rather good) insult. "Just, don't worry about it, Ryder. There are some things that you don't know about me. And there's some things you don't want to know about me," Kitty said, finally managing to get past Ryder and continue down the hallway.

* * *

Kitty returned home after glee rehearsal to a war zone. She walked into the kitchen to see her mother, June Wilde, and her father, Richard Wilde, having another argument. "Just go to one meeting, Richard!" June yelled.

_Dad must not want to go to that couple's counseling thing he suggested earlier,_ Kitty thought to herself.

Kitty took a step into the kitchen, making herself noticeable to her parents. Her father suddenly calmed down at the sight of his daughter, as did Kitty's mother. "Hey, sweety, how was school?" Richard asked his daughter, with a fake smile.

"Fine. I'll be upstairs in my room. Carry on with your conversation," Kitty said, before grabbing a bowl of Cheezits and a bottle of Vitamin Water.

As Kitty was making her way into the foyer and up the stairs, she noticed something on the front porch. _Ryder Lynn? What the fuck is he doing at my house?_ Kitty thought to herself. She quickly unlocked the door and swung it open, catching Ryder off guard.

"What the hell are you doing here, Lynn?" Kitty said, not looking pleased at the sight of Ryder standing on her front porch.

"Can I come inside? I want to talk to you," Ryder answered, truthfully.

"Alright, just be quiet coming up the stairs. I can't have people over during the week," Kitty said as Ryder silently snuck inside, and locking the door behind him.

"Kitty!? Who was at the door!?" June yelled from the kitchen.

Kitty and Ryder froze going up the stairs. Kitty quickly thought of something, "Just some people trying to sell us Bibles!" Kitty yelled back.

"Alright!" June yelled back, then going back to yelling at her husband. Kitty pushed Ryder up the stairs.

The two teens soon ended up in Kitty's bedroom. "What are your parents yelling about?" Ryder asked, about the yelling match he heard Kitty's parents in.

"Don't worry about it," Kitty said, sitting on her bed. She patted the bed, and Ryder sat down. "What'd you want to talk about?"

"What is going on with you? Last week you were all happy, and nice, and cool to be around. But ever since Monday, you've been on a warpath, constantly bashing everyone in glee club," Ryder said, truthfully.

Kitty let out a sigh. She shifted her position on the bed, causing her legs to be pulled closer to her. "I don't know why you're asking me. You heard it when you were coming up the stairs," Kitty said, picking up a cracker and chewing on it.

"Your parents? What's going on between them?" Ryder asked.

"My mom found out he was fucking his co-worker. She keeps wanting to go to couple's therapy, but my dad believes everything is going to work out, so he won't go," Kitty said. She could feel her eyes swell up in tears. Kitty took a deep breath and swallowed her tears away.

"How long have they been fighting?" Ryder asked.

"Two months. It's just hard," Kitty began, "seeing how happy everyone is in glee club. Then there's me. They have people to love. And I have no one. I just want somebody to love me." Kitty began to cry.

Ryder didn't know what to do. He hesitantly moved his hand to her leg. She didn't do anything to suggest he didn't like what he was doing, so he left his hand there. "You have me, Kitty," he said, causing her to look up at him. Her mascara has begun to run down her cheeks.

"What are you talking about?" Kitty asked.

"You aren't alone, Kitty. If you ever need someone to talk to, I'm here," Ryder said.

"Th-thank you, Ryder," Kitty said with a genuine smile. Ryder thought to himself, _Kitty is actually really pretty when she isn't giving someone one of her bitchy looks._

The moment was moment when the door burst open and June stood in the doorway, caught off guard by the presence of the boy sitting on Kitty's bed.


	2. Chapter 2

The following day, Kitty was closed off from everyone, including Ryder. He tried talking to her before first period, but she brushed him off. "You're lucky I'm not six feet under, Ryder. My mom and dad were pissed when they found you in my room," Kitty said, shutting her locker and walking into her first period Spanish class.

Ryder entered Biology and sat next to Marley, the only person he knew in the class. "Hey," she said, so quiet Ryder had to focus just to hear her speak.

"Morning," Ryder said with the friendliest smile he could muster.

"So, uh, Tina told me she saw you at Kitty's house yesterday," Marley said, playing with the corner of her worn notebook.

Ryder's face fell, he completely forgot Tina lived right around the corner from Kitty. "I just wanted to talk to her about what she did yesterday, that's all," Ryder promised his good friend.

"Just be careful about her, alright? One second she's your friend and the next second she's suggesting you pick up an eating disorder," Marley said.

"She has some stuff going on her life Marley, that no one knows about it. I'm surprised she even told me about it," Ryder said.

Marley didn't look interested in what Ryder had to say about the girl who made her life a living hell the moment she walked into McKinley. "Whatever she has going on, doesn't make up for all the things that she does to us," Marley said, rather snotty.

Ryder had enough. He slammed his fist down onto the lab table, causing Marley to jump in fright. "Enough, Marley. Her life isn't perfect. Being a bitch is the only thing she has going for her at the moment. Cut her some slack. We all cut you some," Ryder said, then standing up and moving to another lab table to sit with a fellow football player.

* * *

Three class periods later Kitty found herself holding a tray of salad from the school's salad bar and a small oatmeal and raisin cookie. She took one step towards the lunch table which was occupied by the New Directions, but caught herself as soon as she saw all the death glares she was receiving. She quickly changed directions and started heading for the table where all the Cheerios and football players were sitting. She caught herself and realized she left that table for a reason.

Kitty soon found herself sitting in the choir room. She managed to convince Mr. Schuester to eat in the cafeteria so she could "get some studying done".

"What are you doing here?" Kitty looked up to see Ryder standing in the doorway to the choir room. He had a sack lunch in his hand, and a history textbook in the other.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Kitty snapped back.

"I'm here to study. Mr. Schuester lets me study in here during the week," Ryder said, moving to a chair just two seats away from Kitty. "So are you going to tell me why you're here, or should we make it into a guessing game?"

"I didn't have anyone to sit with at lunch," Kitty said, looking down at her tray, which was balanced on her two legs. She felt like she was a shy freshman or a new girl in the school when she spoke the words.

"Well, you consider me someone to sit with at lunch," Ryder said, causing Kitty to look up at him and give him a strange expression, causing Ryder to chuckle. "Look, Kitty, like it or not, I'm the only friend you got so far. You really screwed everything up in glee club. So whether you like it or not, I'm your friend."

Kitty smiled and opened her mouth to say something, but Ryder's phone vibrated. He pulled it out of his pant pockets and looked at the screen, smiling. "What's got you all smiles?" she asked him.

"Nothing," Ryder said, obviously hiding something from his new friend.

Kitty cocked an eyebrow. "I thought friends shared everything with each other," she said, adding a sweet, but sinister smile, at the end of the sentence.

"Alright, fine. You know how I thought that Marissa girl was Katie? Well ever since I found it was Unique, me and Marissa started talking," Ryder said.

"I thought she was a Senior," Kitty said, showing a little jealously in her eyes. Was she already starting to like Ryder again?

"She is. But she doesn't mind the age difference. And neither do I. So what's the big deal, y'know?" Ryder asked, as he punched in a reponse.

"You like her, don't you?" Kitty asked, not waiting for a response before continuing, "If you like her so much, go for her. The worst thing she could do is turn you down," Kitty said, referencing what happened between her and Ryder just a few week earlier. She hoped Ryder would get the reference, but it went right over his head.

"Well, I was thinking about asking her to prom," Ryder said, taking a bite out of his sandwich.

"Go for it. Again, the worst she could do is turn you down. And if even if she did that, I would have to call her out on being completely crazy," Kitty said, avoiding Ryder's eye contact the best that she could, but that didn't Ryder to linger on Kitty for a little bit longer than he should have.

* * *

Marissa exited the showers after a longer-than-expected field hockey practice. She was shocked when she saw Kitty leaning against her P.E. locker. "May I help you?" Marissa asked Kitty, who she never spoke to in her entire life.

"No, but I can help you," Kitty said with a smirk.

"And how can you do that?" Marissa said, as she spun in her locker combination.

"I heard you and my friend, Ryder, have been talking over the past couple of weeks," Kitty said.

"Yeah, ever since he found that Unique girl was catfishing him, we kind of started talking. He's really sweet. And really funny," Marissa said the last sentence as if it was surprise.

"Just some words of advice, Malibu Barbie, treat him with respect. His past with girls haven't been the greatest, especially with this catfish scandal," Kitty said.

Marissa turned to her and gave her a half smile. "You really care about him, don't you?"

"I guess you could say that," Kitty said with a smile. "I have to go." Kitty then walked out of the locker room and into the hallway.

Really care about him? That's one way to say it. Kitty realized as she made her way down the hallway towards the front of the school where the late bus was waiting for the kids who stayed after school, that the feelings she thought had gone away after that conversation with Ryder in the library never went away, and that they were slowly coming back.

"This is not good," Kitty said to herself in a low voice.


	3. Chapter 3

Kitty was gathering things from her locker when she heard the familiar sound of rubber rolling across the floor. She turned to see Artie Abrams smiling up at her. Kitty gave her friend a friendly smile in return. "Hey, Artie," Kitty said.

"Hey, Kitty," he responded. "Can I talk to you?"

"Sure! What about?" Kitty said, faking enthusiasm.

"I can't really talk about it out here. The last time I did this, I got denied…," Artie said. "Follow me."

Artie turned himself around and rolled into the choir room. Kitty followed, no denying that she was a bit interested in what he wanted to talk to her about.

Kitty didn't notice Ryder standing behind a locker door, watching Kitty walk into the choir room with curiosity.

"So what do you want to talk to me about?" Kitty asked, letting some of her regularly annoyed tone show in her voice.

Artie locked shut both doors. "Please, sit," he said, Kitty sat down. "Okay, look, I know that we're friends and all, and prom is coming up. I don't have a date, and you're a sixteen-year-old girl, so I know that you want to go. Do you think, you want to go to prom with me? Just as friends, though. I'm not hoping for anything to happen out of this."

"Artie, I would love to go with you," Kitty said with a wide smile, causing Artie to smile widely as well.

Five minutes later, Artie and Kitty exited the choir room doors. The hugged each other and they went on with the rest of their day. Ryder was still hiding behind a locker door, watching the two hug and walk away from each other.

At lunch, Ryder and Kitty were seated in the choir room. Ryder was eager to ask her about what went down between her and Artie just hours ago in the same room they were sitting in. Ryder finally decided to ask.

"He asked me to prom, that's all. We're going as friends," Kitty told Ryder. "Have you asked Marissa yet? Speaking of prom, and all."

"Not yet. I'm still trying to figure out how exactly to ask her," Ryder said, taking a bite out his apple.

"Well, that's easy. Didn't you sing to her when you first met her?" Kitty asked, Ryder nodded. "Then just sing to her again! It's not that hard."

* * *

The following day, Ryder told Kitty his plan of serenading Marissa in the auditorium during the study hall period the two shared. Kitty agreed to help Ryder in whatever way she could. Her job was to keep anyone from entering the auditorium.

Kitty now stood in front of the auditorium doors, which were now shut, but that didn't stop Kitty from hearing Ryder singing "Babel" by Mumford and Sons to Marissa. Kitty couldn't herself from wishing that she was in Marissa's position, as selfish as it sounded.

Not even five minutes later, the door opened and Ryder and Marissa walked out with huge grins on her faces. Ryder had is arm draped over Marissa's shoulders. "I take it she said yes, then," Kitty guessed.

"Who can turn down a boy who sings Mumford and Sons to you?" Marissa asked.

Marissa and Ryder gave each other pecks on the lips, shocking Kitty, before saying goodbye. Kitty was stuck with walking with Ryder to their third period, trying to keep her jealously to herself.

* * *

After school, Ryder and Kitty, along with the other New Directions, were helping Blaine, Sam, and Tina help set up for prom which was just three days away. "I heard you asked that Marissa chick to prom, dude. Nice," Sam said with a smile, patting Ryder on the back.

Sam walked away as Ryder said, "Thanks." Ryder then noticed that Kitty was staring at him. "Is there something on my face, or something?"

Kitty was taken off guard. She snapped out of whatever was going on, and gave Ryder a quizzical look. "What are you talking about?" she asked, baffled.

"Why are you staring at me?" Ryder asked, curious.

"I wasn't," Kitty said, defensively, then walking away.

Marley walked up to Kitty, who was now painting pieces of scenery with fellow lower classmen. "Alright, Kitty, what the hell is going between you and Ryder?" Marley asked, cutting straight to the chase.

"What are you talking about?" Kitty asked, trying to pull off the naïve act.

"Don't pull that act on me. I see you two together all the time. And you can't keep your eyes off of him," Marley responded.

"There's nothing going on between us. He's with Marissa, anyways," Kitty said, dipping her brush into more paint.

"Okay, going to prom with someone doesn't mean they are together. You are going with Artie, aren't you? That doesn't mean the two of you are going together," Marley said.

"That's different. Me and Artie are going as _friends_. Besides, he's just going with me to get back together with Tina, he told me. And Marissa and Ryder _are_ together. They kissed after he asked her to prom," Kitty said. Marley gave her a knowing look.

"You like him, don't you?" Marley asked.

"What!? No! We're just friends," Kitty insisted.

"Whatever you say, but I see that look in your eyes. And I'm sure your heart beats one-hundred beats per minute whenever he even shares the same air as you. You like Ryder," Marley said, smiling sweetly and then walking away.

Kitty turned to see Ryder, who was supposed to be spotting Jake, who was hanging streamers against the back wall, absently texting Marissa on the phone. Every once in a while, Ryder was laugh. Kitty looked at him with great disappointment.

She wasn't disappointed in him, per say. She was more disappointed in herself. "Kitty!" Artie's voice immediately snapped out of her thoughts. She turned to face Artie.

"Huh?" she asked.

"I wanted to make sure you were still wearing that pink dress to prom. I don't want any last minute changes, that's all. My mom already bought the tie," Artie said, causing Kitty to smirk.

"No, it's still the pink one I showed you," Kitty said.

"Good. But now I want to talk about what really brought me over here," Artie began. "I know that you like Ryder. Don't deny it, it's practically all over your face whenever he looks at you. I know that I'm only taking you to prom so that you can make Tina jealous, but you can take me to prom to make Ryder jealous. I have AP Government with Marissa, and she's not as nice as people make her out to be," Artie said.

"Thank you, Artie," Kitty said.


	4. Chapter 4

Kitty and Artie walked – well, one walked, one strolled – into Breadsticks around seven the night of prom. Kitty was wearing a flowing pink gown that looked Greek-inspired. Artie was wearing a matching pink tie and a steel-grey suit. The wheels on his wheelchair even lit up pink to match Kitty's dress.

The hostess showed the two to the table, where Marley, Jake, Unique, Sam, Tina, and Blaine were all waiting for them. Kitty avoided eye contact with the other glee club members as she sat down. She also noticed the two empty seats at the table. "Who else is coming?" she asked the rest of the table.

"Ryder and Marissa," Marley said flatly.

Kitty did her best to hide the hurt look in her eyes. She opened her mouth to say something but Ryder cut her off, "Hey guys!"

Kitty's head snapped at the sound of Ryder's voice and she saw, to her absolute horror, Marissa looking stunning on Ryder's arm. She wore a form-fitting white dress that had the back exposed. "Hey, everyone," Marissa said with a sweet smile, causing Kitty to turn away in an act of disgust. Marissa and Ryder sat down at the table, with Marissa sitting next to Kitty, and Ryder sitting next to Sam, who sat opposite Kitty.

Ryder caught the sight of Kitty glaring at him as he sat down, but didn't think too much of it. The hour at the hotel quickly passed, and the group soon found themselves back in their cars and driving to McKinley for prom.

* * *

Ryder had to admit, the prom did look awesome. Blaine and Sam decided the theme was going to be A Night in Havana. At the moment, Blaine and Sam were performing "Howling For You" by the Black Keys. Marissa went off to talk to some of her friends, and Kitty and Artie were having some conversation that was causing Kitty to not stop smiling.

_What sort of game is Kitty playing? Everyone at school knows that she wouldn't dare go to prom with Artie, so why is she doing it?_ he thought to himself. He couldn't explain, so he shook it off.

An hour later, Ryder noticed that Kitty wasn't even talking to Artie any more. She was too busy dancing with the second string quarter back, Alex, while Artie and Tina were dancing. Marissa was still talking to friends, so Ryder went to look for her.

To his horror, he found Marissa making out with fellow senior, Ethan Hunt. Ryder made sure that Marissa would see him watch them making out, and walked away, signifying that the two of them were done. Ryder, seething with rage, walked right up to Kitty and tapped her on the shoulder. She turned to him, with a slightly annoyed look on her face.

"What do you want?" she said, rather harshly, but Kitty didn't care.

"What the hell are you doing?" Ryder asked, referring to her dancing with Alex.

"What are you talking about?" Kitty snapped back.

"Why are you dancing with this asshole?" Ryder asked.

"Hey!" Alex said, after being called an asshole.

"Relax, dude," Kitty said, holding up a hand to Alex's face to silence him. Alex grumbled something under his breath and sauntered off. "Why the hell do you care about who I dance with at prom?"

"Because that guy is a tool, Kitty. And I thought you were here with Artie. Why aren't you dancing with him?" Ryder asked.

"He only took me to make Tina jealous. But I don't care, I get a free prom out of it," Kitty said with a simple shrug.

"Kitty, you deserve someone who will treat you like a princess, not someone who will kick you to the curb as soon as he graduates form high school," Ryder said. Kitty suddenly got angry.

"Screw you Ryder, and whatever you got to say to me. I saw Marissa making out with Ethan, and I know that you are only talking to me to get back at her. I'm not some rebound. Go find someone else to hook up with, and leave me alone," Kitty said, spinning around.

Thirty minutes later, Kitty found herself standing on stage. She was fuming with rage about that confrontation with Ryder. For some reason, it really ticked her off, but didn't know why. She saw from the stage, that Ryder was sitting at a table all by himself.

Kitty

_Primadonna girl, yeah_

_All I ever wanted was the world_

_I can't help that I need it all_

_The primadonna life, the rise and fall_

_You say that I'm kinda difficult_

_But it's always someone else's fault_

_Got you wrapped around my finger, babe_

_You can count on me to misbehave_

_Primadonna girl,_

_Would you do anything for me?_

_Buy a big diamond ring for me?_

_Would you get down on your knees for me?_

_Pop that pretty question right now, baby_

_Beauty queen on a silver screen_

_Living like I'm in dream_

_I know I've got a big ego_

_I really don't know why it's such a big deal, though_

_(Ooh) And I'm sad to the core, core, core_

_(Yeah) Every day is chore, chore, chore_

_(Wow) When you give, I want more, more, more_

_I wann be adored_

_Primadonna girl, yeah_

_All I ever wanted was the world_

_I can't help that I need it all_

_The primadonna life, the rise and fall_

_You say that I'm kinda difficult_

_But it's always someone else's fault_

_Got you wrapped around my finger, babe_

_You can count on me to misbehave_

_Primadonna girl fill the void up with Celluloid_

_Take a picture, I'm with the boys_

_Get what I want 'cause I ask for it_

_Not because I'm really deserving of it_

_Living like I'm in a play_

_In the lime light I want to stay_

_I know I've got a big ego_

_I really don't know why it's such a big deal, though_

_(Ooh) Going up, going down, down, down_

_(Yeah) Anything for the crown, crown, crown_

_(Wow) When the lights dimming down, down, down_

_I spin around_

_Primadonna girl, yeah_

_All I ever wanted was the world_

_I can't help that I need it all_

_The primadonna life, the rise and fall_

_You say that I'm kinda difficult_

_But it's always someone else's fault_

_Got you wrapped around my finger, babe_

_You can count on me to misbehave_

_Primadonna girl, yeah_

_All I ever wanted was the world_

_I can't help that I need it all_

_The primadonna life, the rise and fall_

_You say that I'm kinda difficult_

_But it's always someone else's fault_

_Got you wrapped around my finger, babe_

_You can count on me to misbehave_

_Primadonna girl_

Kitty finished the song and saw that Ryder was walking out the gym. Kitty couldn't tell if he was storming out, or simply walking out. She couldn't stop herself from running out after him.


	5. Chapter 5

Ryder was nearly to the door when he heard, "Ryder!" being called from Kitty who was running down the hall after him. He sighed and turned and waited for her to run to him.

"What?" he asked. He didn't sound annoyed. He sounded tired.

"Where are you going? Did I do something?" she asked.

"What could you have possibly have done? I'm just leaving because I'm tired and want to go home," Ryder said, loosening his tie.

"I'll leave with you. This prom was a bore anyways," Kitty said with a little bit too much eagerness, causing Ryder to cock an eyebrow.

"Someone's an eager beaver," Ryder said.

"Shut up. I'm hungry, take me to go get some food before you take me home," Kitty said as she shoved past the smirking Ryder to exit the school and into the parking lot.

* * *

The Greasy Duck was a diner in downtown Lima that Kitty allows past, but never thought of entering. The people she saw inside were the people that she wouldn't be dead caught eating with. So when she and Ryder entered the diner, still clad in their prom outfits, she wasn't surprised seeing the other patrons giving her and Ryder weird looks. Ryder didn't notice though, and he lead Kitty to a corner booth.

A waitress soon approached them, chomping on bubble gum, and asked, "What can I get you two?"

"French toast and a Coke, please," Kitty said.

"Same," Ryder said. The two then handed the waitress their menus.

Kitty turned to Ryder, asking, "So, was your first prom as much fun as it cracked up to be?"

"Besides the fact that my date was making out with someone else, it went fine. How about you?" Ryder asked.

"Boring. Some guy tried to stop me from having fun," Kitty said, winking at Ryder, causing him to blush.

"I'm sorry for acting like a total douche," Ryder said, "You did kill that song, though."

"Oh really? Then how come you left before I even finished?" Kitty countered, smirking.

"I just needed to get out of their, y'know?" Ryder said, while playing with the napkin holder. Kitty couldn't help but to feel sorry for her friend – her only friend, to be honest.

"Do you wanna dance?" Kitty asked.

Ryder perked up at the question, giving Kitty a quizzical look. "Here? Now?" Ryder asked.

Kitty nodded. "These people are probably too drunk to even notice us, come on," Kitty said, climbing out of the booth. She grabbed Ryder's arm and dragged him out after her. She went over to the classic jukebox close to the door and selected a song. She walked back to Ryder as the song began.

KITTY

_Closing time_

_Open all the doors and let you out into the world_

_Closing time_

_Turn all of the lights on over every boy and every girl_

_Closing time_

_One last call for alcohol so finish your whiskey or beer_

_Closing time_

_You don't have to go home but you can't stay here_

KITTY & RYDER

_I know who I want to take me home_

_I know who I want to take me home_

_I know who I want to take me home_

_Take me home_

RYDER

_Closing time_

_Time for you to go out to the places you will be from_

_Closing time_

_This room won't be open till your brothers or sisters come_

KITTY

_So gather up your jackets, move it to the exits_

_I hope you have found a friend_

KITTY & RYDER

_Closing time_

_Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end_

_I know who I want to take me home_

_I know who I want to take me home_

_I know who I want to take me home_

_Take me home_

RYDER

_Closing time_

_Time for you to go out to the places you will be from_

KITTY

_I know who I want to take me home_

_I know who I want to take me home_

_I know who I want to take me home_

_Take me home_

RYDER

_Closing time_

_Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end_

The singing stopped and Kitty found herself looking deep into Ryder's eyes, and he was doing the same into her's. They heard the waitress clear her throat, and the moment was shattered. The two quickly sat down into the booth and ate their late night meal in silence.

* * *

An hour later, Ryder was driving Kitty to her house. They were in silence still. "Thanks for dinner. Or breakfast. Whatever you want to call it, I guess," Kitty said with a fake laugh.

"Your welcome," Ryder said, playing with his loosened tie.

Kitty pointed at a house through the windshield. "That's me up there on the right," she said, as she was unbuckling her seatbelt.

* * *

Ten minutes later, the two were standing awkwardly on Kitty's front porch. Kitty had her hands behind her back. "Well, I guess I'll talk to you later," Kitty said, pulling a set of keys out of her purse.

"Kitty, wait," Ryder said, gently grabbing her arm.

"What?" she said, not even turning to face Ryder.

"I had fun tonight. But, I don't want to ruin our friendship with what went down with us at the diner. You're too good of a friend to lose," Ryder said.

"Okay, that's fine," she said quickly, before disappearing into her house.

* * *

On Monday, Kitty tried to go back to the normal routine with Ryder, but she couldn't. She could tell that she was admiring him when she looked at him. She was starting to crush on him again, but like the first time, she knew he wasn't interested.

She walked into glee club with her head held as high as she could hold it, and did her best to just give Ryder a friendly smile as he sat down next to her. He wrapped her arm around her shoulder in a friendly manner, and Kitty had to clench her fists together to stop her from doing anything crazy.

Mr. Schuester walked in with his normal smile on his face. "I take it you all had a good time at prom?" he asked the glee club. Everyone cheered, except Kitty who rolled her eyes. "Alright, now that the fun is all over, it's time to get back to business. But you still want to have fun, right? So we're going to have another tribute week!" The glee club cheered and tried to peer over their teacher's shoulders as he wrote something on the whiteboard.

Mr. Schuester took a step away from the whiteboard and revealed the tribute week's artist of choice: ABBA.

Kitty's hand immediately shout up into the air. "Mr. Schuester, I want to start things off. I already have a song prepared," Kitty said, shocking the whole glee club. Mr. Schuester was baffled at how eager Kitty was, as was the rest of the glee club. "Alright, Kitty! Come on down!" he said. The other New Directions awkwardly clapped as Kitty made her way down from her seat.

"This song is actually something I've been working on for quite a while now, and I think this week is fitting to perform it," Kitty said. She hurried over to the band members and whispered her song and they started to play.

KITTY

_If you change your mind, I'm the first in line_

_Honey I'm still free_

_Take a chance on me_

_If you need me, let me know, gonna be around_

_If you've got no place to go, if you're feeling down_

_If you're all alone when the pretty birds have flown_

_Honey I'm still free_

_Take a chance on me_

_Gonna do my very best and it ain't no lie_

_If you put me to the test, if you let me try_

_Take a chance on me_

_(That's all I ask of you honey)_

_Take a chance on me_

_We can go dancing, we can go walking, as long as we're together_

_Listen to some music, maybe just talking, get to know what you better_

_'Cos you know I've got_

_So much that I wanna do, when I dream I'm alone with you_

_It's magic_

_You want me to leave it there, afraid of a love affair_

_But I think you know_

_That I can't let go_

_If you change your mind, I'm the first in line_

_Honey I'm still free_

_Take a chance on me_

_If you need me, let me know, gonna be around_

_If you've got no place to go, if you're feeling down_

_If you're all alone when the pretty birds have flown_

_Honey I'm still free_

_Take a chance on me_

_Gonna do my very best and it ain't no lie_

_If you put me to the test, if you let me try_

_Take a chance on me_

_(Come on, give me a break will you?)_

_Take a chance on me_

_Oh you can take your time baby, I'm in no hurry, know I'm gonna get you_

_You don't wanna hurt me, baby don't worry, I ain't gonna let you_

_Let me tell you now_

_My love is strong enough to last when things are rough_

_It's magic_

_You say that I waste my time but I can't get you off my mind_

_No I can't let go_

_'Cos I love you so_

_If you change your mind, I'm the first in line_

_Honey I'm still free_

_Take a chance on me_

_If you need me, let me know, gonna be around_

_If you've got no place to go, if you're feeling down_

_If you're all alone when the pretty birds have flown_

_Honey I'm still free_

_Take a chance on me_

_Gonna do my very best, baby can't you see_

_Gotta put me to the test, take a chance on me_

_(Take a chance, take a chance, take a chance on me)_

_Ba ba ba ba baa, ba ba ba ba baa_

_Honey I'm still free_

_Take a chance on me_

_Gonna do my very best, baby can't you see_

_Gotta put me to the rest, take a chance on me_

_(Take a chance, take a chance, take chance on me)_

_Ba ba ba ba baa, ba ba ba ba baa ba-ba_

_Honey' I'm still free_

_Take a chance on me_

Everyone clapped, and Ryder new the song was about him. He didn't know what to do. Did he go up to her? Did he just stand there? His answer came clear to him when Kitty ran out of the choir room.


	6. Chapter 6

CHAPTER SIX

After Kitty ran out of the glee club rehearsal, she went straight home. It was three hours after she left glee rehearsal and she was sitting on her bed, catching up on "Suits" and doing History homework. There was a knock at her door. June stuck her head into her daughter's bedroom. "That Ryder boy is here to talk to you. Want me to send him up?" her mother asked. Kitty just shrugged.

June opened the door to reveal Ryder standing against the wall opposite Kitty's bedroom wall. June put a book in front of the door, symbolizing that the door best be kept open. June gave her daughter and Ryder a fake smile and walked back down the steps.

"What are you doing here, Ryder?" Kitty asked the boy as he walked into the bedroom.

"I wanted to talk to you about that happened in glee today," Ryder said, sitting down. "About that song you sang."

Kitty rolled her eyes, pausing the television. "It's a damn song, Ryder. Nothing to get hung up on," she said.

"If it's just a song, then why didn't you sing it last week. Or a month ago? You said you've been working on that song for a while. So why did you wait so long to sing it?" Ryder said, his voice rising with every word coming out of his mouth.

Kitty was lost for words. "Because I li-," she began, but caught her self. She cleared her throat and continued, "Why do you care so much? So I sang a song about getting a chance with someone. So what!? So what if he decided to take another girl to prom!?" Kitty said slamming her history textbook shut.

"You could have said something about me taking Marissa to prom, Kitty," Ryder said calmly.

Kitty scoffed. "Like what? In case you've forgotten, you already rejected me once." Ryder was lost for words. He didn't want to argue with her because he knew that she was right. "Look, you better go. I'll see you tomorrow." And with that, Ryder left Kitty's room and her house.

* * *

The following day, Tuesday, Kitty practically ran from class to class, keeping all of her textbooks and binders she needed for the day in her backpack. It was heavy as a sack of bricks, but Kitty didn't care. Anything to keep her from bumping into Ryder.

At lunch, Kitty was horrified to see the choir room was locked. _Where's Mr. Schuester!? He's always here!_ she thought to herself. She had no other place to go. She knew that the glee club would be in the cafeteria, so she made her way to the courtyard.

What a bad idea that was. When she exited the building to go into the courtyard, she was horrified to see Ryder standing with the glee club. Marley pointed Kitty out for Ryder, and music started.

RYDER

_The boys they have their eyes all over you,_

_And you're loving every second of attention._

_I need to fin just some way to get through,_

_Or at least some way that I can mention._

_I'm feeling you,_

_You're feeling me,_

_What exactly is holding us back?_

_I'm feeling you,_

_Are you feeling me?_

_Just give me something_

_Give me, give me, give me anything_

_Oh it's you,_

_And it's true_

_You're electric I can't get over it_

_[x2]_

_You're running through my veins you feel like a freight train_

_I'm trying everything to keep my hands off of you._

_So give me anything,_

_Please just give me anything,_

_Cause I want you more than they do._

_And oh no,_

_I think I lost myself in your deep blue eyes_

_And oh no, _

_I think it's time we cut to the chase tonight_

_Oh it's you,_

_And it's true,_

_You're electric, I can't get over it_

_[x2]_

_I'm feeling you, (You're electric)_

_You're feeling me, (and I can't get over it)_

_What exactly is holding us back?_

_I'm feeling you, (You're electric)_

_You're feeling me, (and I can't get over it)_

_Just give me anything_

Kitty couldn't help herself from smiling widely and going red in the face. "Ryder, what was that?" she asked.

"Kitty, will you please, for the love of God, go out with me?" Ryder asked getting down on one knee, successfully getting cheers from other students in the courtyard.

"Ryder," Kitty said softly.

"If you don't say yes I'll just sing another song," Ryder said, signaling the band members to start playing again.

Kitty was quick to make them stop. She pulled Ryder to his feet and pulled him down so their eyes were level with each other's. "Alright, I'll go out with you!" she said.

Ryder turned to the crowd and yelled, "IT'S A YES!" The crowd instantly started cheering. Ryder wrapped an arm around Kitty and pulled her in close. Kitty couldn't stop herself from grinning.


End file.
